If I Knew You Then
by goshinote
Summary: InuKag, Semi-AU: What would have happened if Inuyasha and Kagome met when they were children? As residents of the same forest during the Feudal Era, the two children meet and begin to leave significant marks on each others' hearts...Complete!


So what would happen if Inuyasha and Kagome met when they were children in the Feudal Era? Huh…let's dive in, shall we?

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or its characters. All rights to Rumiko Takahashi.

 _If I Knew You Then…_

"So your name is Inu…yasha?"

The young hanyo nodded curtly at the young girl. She'd seen him running through the forest as she was picking flowers like all normal girls did. Inuyasha thought it was stupid. Then again, he thought most things were just stupid in general.

"I'm Kagome," the girl replied. She smiled widely, displaying a small gap where one of her front teeth was missing. Inuyasha nearly asked her about it; he hadn't lost any teeth yet. His mother hadn't told him about that part of his aging process…

 _Mother…_

Inuyasha pushed her out of his mind as he frowned at this Kagome girl. He wasn't surprised that she already knew his name. The villagers avoided him at all costs. They saw him as a dangerous threat even though he was just a small child.

"Keh!" Inuyasha said rudely. "I don't care what your name is. Leave me alone." Inuyasha turned to leave, but the little Kagome girl quickly grabbed a fistful of his hair.

Inuyasha screeched. "Ouch!" he shouted. "Let go!" Kagome ignored him as she ran her fingers through the long, silver tresses.

"You have pretty hair," she said as she admired it. "I really like it. I wish mine were that long!" Inuyasha abruptly stopped.

 _She's_ likes _something obviously yokai about me?_ the young hanyo asked himself. _What's wrong with this girl?_

Inuyasha batted the girl's hands, which were still embedded in his hair, away from him. "Don't touch me," he said curtly. "Hands to yourself." Inuyasha felt a surge of pride. _Mother would be proud that I remembered one of her courtesy rules,_ he boasted to himself.

"You have puppy ears, too!" she cried in blatant disregard for what Inuyasha had said.

Kagome's quick fingers moved up to gently rub Inuyasha's ears.

Although his first instinct was to fight her off, he was instead filled with memories.

 _Mother used to do that,_ he thought to himself. _I miss her…I wish she could have lived longer._

Kagome smiled when he didn't fight her off. "If I had ears like yours," she began, "I would never stop touching them!" Inuyasha just stared at her.

"Why are you talking to me?" he asked. "Why aren't you afraid of me like everyone else?" Kagome giggled.

"Why would I be, silly?" she asked. "You're not scary at all." Inuyasha frowned.

"Yes, I am!" he retorted. "Watch!"

Inuyasha bared his fangs, which were still not quite grown in all the way, and held up his tiny claws. A quiet growl came from his throat as he gave Kagome a death glare.

But she just giggled again. "You look funny!" she cried. "You're silly." Inuyasha dropped his stance and felt his ears droop.

"I'm supposed to look…men…mena…menacing," he said. He always had a hard time remembering the word. It's what the villagers always called him, so he thought that's what he looked like when he was on the defense.

Kagome looked confused. "I don't know what that means," she said. "I'm only six, silly! You use grown-up words!" Kagome smiled at the little hanyo.

"Do you want to be my friend?" she asked. Inuyasha's eyes widened. He'd never had a friend before. All he'd had was his mother, but she was gone now…

"Okay," Inuyasha found himself answering, much to his surprise. "Sure." Kagome grabbed his hand and started pulling him deeper into the forest.

"Come on!" she said as she tugged on his hand. "I'll show you my meadow!"

The two children made their way to a small meadow within the forest. It was full of wildflowers, and the little pair played together the whole afternoon.

When it started to get dark outside, Kagome put down the many flower crowns she'd made for Inuyasha.

"It's starting to get dark," she said as she stood up. "My mother always wants me home before the sun sets." Inuyasha's ears drooped. He was incredibly disappointed that his first friend had to leave.  
"Okay," he said. "Well…goodbye." Kagome took his hand.

"Do you want to come to my house?" she asked. "You can sleep on our extra futon. Mother won't mind." Inuyasha shook his head without hesitation. His own mother had warned him to not go into the human village without her. It wasn't safe. Now that she was gone, he didn't think he would ever go back.

"Where do you live?" Kagome asked at his refusal. Inuyasha pointed up.

"I sleep in the trees," he replied. Kagome giggled.

"That's so cool!" she said. "That sounds like so much fun." Inuyasha gave her a small smile. He really liked his new friend.

"I have to leave now," Kagome said as she leaned forward and hugged him.

"Bye!" she replied happily. "Let's play tomorrow!" Inuyasha hesitantly hugged Kagome back a little awkwardly, given that the only person he'd ever hugged was his mother, and smiled for the first time since she'd passed away.

"See you tomorrow," he said as his friend ran her way home.

 _I have a friend,_ he realized happily. He slept very well that night.

Kagome came to see him the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that. Soon, they were the best of friends and played together every day.

Kagome liked to bring him special treats from her mother.

"She likes everyone," Kagome had explained to Inuyasha when she gave him the treats. "Mother understands why you're scared to go into the village. She said that she wishes it were different. She wishes that people understood that we're all equal." Inuyasha's eyes widened.

"Really?" he asked. Kagome nodded excitedly.

"Of course!" she proclaimed. "And also I told her how nice and fun you are so of course she likes you now! I'll bring her to play one day so you can meet her. She just had my little brother so she has to take care of him a lot but as soon as he gets bigger I'll bring her!" Inuyasha found himself smiling. _Maybe Kagome's mother will be my_ second _friend,_ he mused to himself.

Eventually, Inuyasha did meet Kagome's mother, along with Kagome's newborn brother, and soon enough, he found that he did indeed have three friends. To the not-so-lonely-anymore hanyo, he felt like his world was complete.

Several years went by, and Kagome and Inuyasha remained best friends.

But things began to change soon after Kagome turned thirteen.

"Inuyasha!" she called as she ran to their meeting place in the forest. Inuyasha smiled and hopped down from his tree.

"Hey," he replied. Kagome ran up to him breathlessly with a huge smile on her face.

"Guess what?" she asked excitedly. Inuyasha chuckled. "What?" he asked.

"I'm a Miko!" she exclaimed. Inuyasha's eyes widened. Kagome couldn't tell just yet, but they'd widened in horror.

"Well, I guess I'm not officially a Miko," she clarified. "My powers just sorta _showed up_ today! Kaede-sama said that she'll begin to train me soon. I'm so excited!" Inuyasha tried to smile at her, but it felt more like a grimace.

How could a yokai, even just half, be friends with a Miko? A Miko's duty is purifying yokai. Inuyasha began to worry about their friendship.

"Can we still be friends?" he asked. "I'm a yokai…it seems odd." Kagome looked surprised. "Of course we can, silly!" she replied. "I don't care if you're yokai or that I'm a Miko." Inuyasha smiled and opened his arms when Kagome moved to hug him.

 _Zap!_

"Ouch!" Inuyasha cried when he and Kagome made contact. "What did you do to me?" Kagome's eyes widened as Inuyasha jumped away from her. A small burn appeared on his chest from where Kagome had touched him.

"I didn't do anything!" she countered. She reached out to help the hanyo but he only moved further away from her.

"Stay away from me!" he shouted. "You're just like everyone else. You've been lying to me all this time, haven't you? You don't want to be my friend. You just want to destroy me!" Kagome's eyes filled with tears, but Inuyasha only ignored them as he jumped back up into his tree. Kagome left soon after.

Inuyasha began to hate himself as soon as Kagome was gone. _Stupid,_ he chided himself. _She's your best friend. Of course she wouldn't hurt you on purpose!_

Inuyasha made a resolve to apologize to her. Then they'd be best friends again. They would just need to, as his mother once taught him, keep their hands to themselves.

When Kagome returned the next day, she was crying and immediately began to apologize to Inuyasha. Inuyasha shook his head at her apologies and offered his own. Soon after, all was forgiven.

Eventually, Kagome's Miko training allowed her to control her powers. Years went by, and at eighteen-years-old, she was slated to become the next High Miko.

"I want you to come to the village with me," Kagome said the night she found out she would be High Miko. Inuyasha stared at her from where she was seated on a branch next to him. They'd taken to sitting up in the trees; Kagome had always been jealous that he could jump so high and climb so easily. He'd decided to help her out.

"You know I can't, baka," he said. "Those people hate me." Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on," she argued. "You haven't been to the village in, what, thirteen years? I'm sure everyone has forgotten. And if they haven't, then I'll tell them who you are." Kagome smiled widely. "My best friend. Inuyasha, you're the best friend of the _High_ Miko. I can make sure that they don't harm you." Inuyasha hesitated.

After some convincing, Inuyasha did enter the village. Kagome had been right: the villagers accepted him once she explained that he was her best friend.

Inuyasha, although he tried to hide it, was touched at how much she cared about him.

And he was surprised at how much he cared about her.

As time went by, their perches in the tree branches became closer. Their exchanged glances became longer. Inuyasha and Kagome were evolving into a young man and woman, and they saw the changes in themselves and in each other. With those changes came new feelings, and with those new feelings came new actions.

And on the day Inuyasha finally kissed Kagome, he felt as if everything were falling into place.

They eventually married and left the village.

"We need to find someplace new," Kagome had said the day after their wedding. "I want us to have a new life." Inuyasha, before pulling her into his arms, happily agreed.

Instead of settling down in a new village, they chose to travel. Along the way, they met a taijiya, a monk, and kitsune yokai.

They were a family, a very mismatched one, but a family all the same.

It was only when Kagome became pregnant that the couple, along with their new family, decided to find a nice village in which to settle down. By then, the monk and taijiya had married and were ready to begin their lives together as well.

As the years went by, Inuyasha and Kagome lived happy lives.

One night, as they held onto each other with their two children sleeping nearby, Inuyasha smiled and gently touched Kagome's cheek.

"You are the best thing that's ever happened to me," he murmured. "You, Kagome. I love you." Kagome smiled.

"I love you, Inuyasha," she replied.

They succumbed to a peaceful sleep soon after.

FIN.

So not my usual style, especially for a one-shot. This is just how I think Inuyasha and Kagame's lives would have turned out if they'd been the same age and born in the same time period. True love!

I have like three other endings but I went with this one because it was simpler and easier to put in a one-shot. I might see what I can do with the other two endings I have. I might turn them into longer fics one day haha. I hope you liked it!

Much love. :)


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